JP2008285278A - Paper post-processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a paper post-processing device having a constitution that an occupying space of a conveying route is reduced and cost is reduced in inversion processing of a front page (or insert paper) for saddle stitching and side stitching. <P>SOLUTION: The paper post-processing device has a saddle stitching stacker for stacking the paper sheets received from the image forming device; and the side stitching stacker; staplers auxiliarily provided on the saddle stitching stacker and the side stitching stacker respectively; and a sheet inserter for inserting a cover sheet or a sorting sheet to the stacked bundle of the paper sheets. The paper post-processing device has a conveying route for performing inversion processing in the process in which the cover sheet is conveyed to the saddle stitching stacker and conveying it to the side stitching stacker by a by-pass route. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet post-processing apparatus that performs a binding process on a sheet on which an image is recorded by an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, or an integrated machine thereof.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a sheet post-processing apparatus in which a side stitch stacker and a saddle stitch stacker are separately provided, when an insert sheet including a cover sheet (cover) is necessary, a sheet inserter dedicated to insert (hereinafter also referred to as an insert tray). )) Is fed and joined to the paper received from the image forming apparatus. In this case, in order to align the page order with the paper, the orientation of the paper on the tray is set face-up (printing surface upward) during flat binding, and face-down (printing surface downward) during saddle stitching. ) Is set.

  However, in the side stitching process and the saddle stitching process, the inconvenience of changing the direction of the paper on the cover sheet inserter occurs. Therefore, some have been improved so that sheets can be set in the same direction.

  Hereinafter, a paper conveyance process of an apparatus capable of performing the conventional improved side stitching and saddle stitching processing will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a sheet post-processing apparatus having a conventional improved side-stitching stacker and saddle-stitching stacker.

  First, the side stitching process will be described.

  In FIG. 2, the face-up paper P2 that is the cover of the booklet is fed from the insert tray CT by the paper feed roller KR, is sandwiched and transported by the transport roller R6, and passes through the gate G4 in the state indicated by the dotted line. Then, it is nipped and conveyed by the conveyance roller R9 along the conveyance path u1. The sandwiched paper P2 is sandwiched and transported by the transport roller R1, passes through the gates G1 and G2 indicated by the dotted lines, and is transported face-down to the side stitch stacker SA via the transport rollers R2, R4, and R5. The However, a part of the front of the paper is placed on the movable paper discharge tray T1, the rear part is placed on the flat stitching stacker SA, and the rear end part is aligned by the alignment stopper.

  On the other hand, the paper P1 that is the contents of the booklet received face-down from the image forming apparatus is corrected by the registration rollers RE. The corrected sheet P1 is nipped and conveyed by the conveying roller R1, passes through the gates G1 and G2 shown by dotted lines, and is conveyed to the side stitch stacker SA via the conveying rollers R2, R4, and R5, and the sheet P2 Stacked in page order. Similarly to the sheet P2, a part of the front of the sheet is placed on the movable sheet discharge tray T1, the rear part is placed on the flat stitching stacker SA, and the rear end part is aligned by the alignment stopper.

  When the rear ends of the sheets P1 and P2 are aligned, the stapler ST1 processes the staple (needle) with the staple side so that it is the last page, and a set of booklets (FIG. 3A). See) is completed. Thereafter, the sheet is discharged to the movable discharge tray T1 by the transport belt TB.

  Next, the saddle stitching process will be described.

  The sheet P1, which is the contents of the booklet received from the image forming apparatus while being printed on both sides, is sandwiched and transported by the transport roller R1, passed through the gates G1 and G3 in the state indicated by the solid line, and sandwiched and transported by the transport roller R10. Then, the booklet is loaded on the saddle stitch stacker SB at a predetermined position corresponding to the paper size with the inner surface of the booklet facing downward.

  On the other hand, the face-up paper (cover sheet) P2 is fed from the paper feed roller KR, is sandwiched and transported by the transport roller R6, passes through the gate G4 indicated by the solid line, and along the transport path u2, and further by the solid line. When the paper P2 is nipped and conveyed by the reversing rollers R7 and 8 through the gate G5 in the state shown and the reversing roller R8 is nipped, and the rear end of the paper P2 is removed from the nipping of the reversing roller R7, the gate G5 Switches to a dotted line state. Thereafter, the reversing rollers R7, 8 are reversed, the trailing edge of the paper P2 is the leading edge, sandwiched and conveyed by the reversing roller R7, and the gate G5, the conveying roller R9, the registration roller RE, the conveying roller R1 are switched to the dotted line state. The sheet is placed face up on the sheet P1 loaded on the saddle stitch stacker SB via the gates G1 and G3 in the solid line state. After that, the stapling process as shown in FIG. 2B is performed on the intermediate line of the sheet bundle stacked by the stapler ST2, and the intermediate folding device NR integrated with the folding plate KN is along a guide (not shown). The sheet is moved to the intermediate line, and the folding plate KN pushes up and bends the sheet bundle in the direction of the arrow and inserts it into a pair of rollers that rotate the folding part (see FIG. 4).

  The sheet bundle that has been subjected to the folding process is further nipped and conveyed by the rotation of the roller pair, conveyed along the conveyance guide (not shown) in the direction of arrow t, and discharged from the discharge roller HR to the discharge tray T2.

  In the saddle stitching process, as shown in FIG. 3C, a cover sheet serving as a cover must be placed on the top of the stacked double-sided printing paper, and the stapler bending portion is It is necessary to perform the binding process so as to be at the bottom of the loaded paper.

Patent Document 1 discloses a technique that employs a transport method that includes a transport path dedicated for reversal in order to reverse the sheet from the insert tray IT as described above.
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US Pat. No. 6,575,448B1

  However, in the conventional example, the paper from the insert lay can be reversed, and the paper can always be set face-up, and there is no trouble. However, a conveyance path (reversing unit) dedicated to reversal must be provided, and the space occupied by the device And the cost of parts increases.

  The present invention provides a sheet post-processing device that enables a sheet reversal process from an insert tray by using a part of a conveyance path when reversing a cover sheet (sort sheet) for saddle stitching and flat stitching. For the purpose.

  The above object is achieved by the following configuration.

  (1) A flat stitch stacker for stacking sheets received from the image forming apparatus, a saddle stitch stacker, a stapler stacker, a stapler attached to each of the saddle stitch stackers, and a stack of stacked sheets In a sheet post-processing apparatus having a sheet inserter for inserting a cover sheet or a sorting sheet, the cover sheet is reversely processed in the process of being conveyed to the side stitching stacker and conveyed to the saddle stitching stacker through a bypass path. A sheet post-processing apparatus having a path.

  (2) A stacker for stacking sheets received from the image forming apparatus, a stacker for saddle stitching, a stacker for saddle stitching, a stapler attached to each of the stackers for saddle stitching, and a stack of stacked sheets In a paper post-processing apparatus having a sheet inserter into which a cover sheet or a sorting sheet is inserted, a conveyance path that reverses the sheet from the sheet inserter in the course of conveyance to the saddle stitch stacker and conveys the paper to the side stitch stacker by a bypass path A sheet post-processing apparatus comprising:

  (3) A flat binding stacker for stacking sheets received from the image forming apparatus, a saddle stitching stacker, a stapler for the saddle stitching stacker, a stapler attached to each of the saddle stitching stackers, and a stack of stacked sheets A sheet post-processing apparatus having a sheet inserter for inserting a cover sheet or a sorting sheet, wherein a conveyance path for guiding the sheet to the flat stitching stacker is branched into a conveyance path having a large curvature and a conveyance path having a small curvature. When the first sheet from the image forming apparatus communicates with the flat stitching stacker and is conveyed to the flat stitching stacker via the conveyance path having a small curvature, the cover sheet is bypassed. A sheet post-processing apparatus, wherein the sheet post-processing apparatus transports to the side stitch stacker via the transport path having a large curvature after the reversal process via the path.

  It is possible to reduce the cost of the conveyance path dedicated for paper reversal and to save the occupied space.

  First, a sheet post-processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the description of the embodiment of the present invention, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited by the terms used in this specification.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a sheet post-processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a sheet bundle that has undergone stapling in the side stitching and saddle stitching stacker.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a sheet bundle that is folded and discharged.

  In FIG. 1, the sheet conveyance path at the time of the side stitching process and the saddle stitching process will be described.

1) Flat-stitched conveyance path The face-up sheet P2 serving as the cover of a booklet is fed from the insert tray CT by the paper feed roller 21, and is nipped and conveyed by the conveyance rollers 22 and 23 along the conveyance path t1. Further, the sheet P2 is nipped and conveyed by the conveyance roller R1, and is nipped by the conveyance roller 27 along the conveyance path t3 through the gate G1 (branch portion of the side stitching / saddle stitch conveyance path) and the gate G2 in the state indicated by the dotted line. Then, the sheet is conveyed from the conveying roller 28 through the gate G3 in a solid line state to the flat stitch stacker SA via the conveying rollers 29 and 30 in a face-down state. A part of the front of the paper is placed on the movable paper discharge tray T1, and the rear part is placed on the side stitch stacker SA.

  On the other hand, the paper P1 that is the contents of the booklet received face-down from the image forming apparatus is corrected by the registration rollers 24. The corrected sheet P1 is nipped and conveyed by the conveyance roller 25, passes through the gates G1 and G2 in the state indicated by the dotted lines, is nipped and conveyed by the conveyance roller 27 along the conveyance path t3, and is in a solid line state from the conveyance roller 28. The sheet G is conveyed in the face-down state in the page order on the sheet P2 of the side stitch stacker SA via the conveyance rollers 29 and 30. A part of the front of the paper is placed on the movable paper discharge tray T1, and the rear part is placed on the side stitch stacker SA. Similar to the sheet P2, a part of the front of the sheet is placed on the movable sheet discharge tray T1, the rear part is placed on the flat stitching stacker SA, and the rear end part is aligned by the alignment stopper f. When the rear ends of the sheets P1 and P2 are aligned, the stapler ST1 performs stapling, and one set of booklets (see FIG. 3A) is completed. Thereafter, the next booklet is created after the sheet is discharged from the side stitch stacker SA to the movable sheet discharge tray T1 by the conveyor belt 32. If necessary, the puncher PN may perform punching processing at a predetermined position from the rear end of the paper before the rear end of the paper P1, P2 in the transport direction passes through the transport roller 25.

2) Saddle Stitch Conveyance Path The paper P1 that is the contents of the booklet received in a state where both sides are printed from the image forming apparatus is corrected by the registration rollers 24. The corrected paper P1 is sandwiched and transported by the transport roller 25, passes through the gate G1 in the state shown by the solid line, is sandwiched and transported by the transport roller 26, and the booklet inner stacker SB faces down to the saddle stitching stacker SB. It is loaded at a predetermined position.

  On the other hand, the face-up paper (cover sheet) P2 is fed by the paper feed roller 21, is sandwiched and transported by the transport rollers 22 and 23 along the transport path t1, and is corrected by the registration rollers 24. It is sandwiched between the transport rollers 25. Thereafter, the paper passes through the dotted gates G1 and G2 and is sandwiched between the transport rollers 27, the rear end of the paper P2 is removed from the transport rollers 27, and the transport is stopped with the transport rollers 28 sandwiching the paper P2. The The transport rollers 27 and 28 are arranged on the downstream side of the gate G1, which is also a branch point for saddle stitching or flat stitching.

  Thereafter, the transport rollers 28 and 27 are reversed, the trailing edge of the sheet P2 is the leading edge, is sandwiched and transported by the transport roller 27, and the transport roller 26 is moved along the bypass path t5, which is switched to the solid line state. Via the saddle stitch stacker SB, the paper is placed face up on the previously stacked paper P1. That is, the sheet is reversed in the conveyance path to the side stitch stacker SB, and is sent to the saddle stitch stacker via the bypass path t5 so that the print surface is on the outside.

  After that, the stapling process as shown in FIG. 2B is performed on the intermediate line of the sheet bundle stacked by the stapler ST2, and the intermediate folding device NR integrated with the folding plate KN is along a guide (not shown). Moving to the intermediate line, the folding plate KN pushes up and bends the sheet bundle in the direction of the arrow, inserts it into a pair of rollers that rotate the folding part, and is pinched. The half-folded sheet bundle is further sandwiched and conveyed, conveyed in the direction of arrow t along a conveyance guide (not shown), and discharged from the discharge roller 31 to the fixed discharge tray T2.

  In the present invention, the sheet P2 is fed face-up in the insert tray CT through the bypass path t5 without using a dedicated path for reversing the sheet P2 and using the path for flat binding via the bypass path t5. It can be mounted.

  Further, a description will be given of a side-stitched conveyance path in the case where there is a convex portion on a side perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction, such as a tab sheet where the sheet P2 is a divided sheet.

  The paper P2 on which the title (index) or the like is printed on the tab portion is set on the insert tray CT with the tab portion on the rear end side in the transport direction and the print surface facing down (face down).

  The sheet P1 received from the image forming apparatus 1 is transported along the transport path described in the “1) flat stitch transport path” and is stacked on the flat stitch stacker SA.

  The paper P2 is fed from the insert tray CT by the paper feed roller 21, is sandwiched and transported by the transport rollers 22 and 23 along the transport path t1, and the paper bending is corrected by the registration roller 24. Thereafter, the sheet P2 is sandwiched between the conveyance rollers 25, passes through the gate G1 in a state indicated by a solid line which is also a branch point, enters the saddle stitch path, and is located downstream of the gate G1 and also serves as a reverse roller of the sheet P2. The paper P2 is nipped and conveyed, and stops before the rear end of the paper P2 is released from the nipping of the conveying roller 26. Thereafter, the transport roller 26 rotates in the reverse direction, the gate G4 is switched to the dotted line state, the gates G2 and G3 are also switched to the solid line state, and the paper P2 is fed back along the bypass path t5 with the trailing edge at the leading edge (tab portion side). Then, the paper is placed on the paper P1 on the side stitch stacker SA via the transport rollers 27, 28, 29, and 30. Thereafter, the next paper P1 is placed on the paper P2. Accordingly, the paper P2 can be divided into booklets. Subsequent stapling processing follows a process similar to the above-described flat binding processing.

  Also, a description will be given of a conveyance path related to the flat binding process for only the paper P1 from the image forming apparatus 1 (no paper P2 is fed from the insert tray CT).

  When the high-speed image forming apparatus is used, the printing interval of the paper P1 is shortened, and there is a problem in that the subsequent paper is fed into the flat binding stack SA while the preceding paper bundle is stapled in the flat binding stack SA. In the present embodiment, in order to prevent this inconvenience, the conveyance path leading to the side stitching stacker is branched into a path with a small curvature, a short path, and a path with a long curvature. The paper P1 of the eye is conveyed to a short path with a small curvature, temporarily stopped, and the time to reach the side stitching stacker SA is somewhat delayed, thereby preventing the booklet from colliding with the preceding booklet during the stapling process.

  That is, the sheet P1 received from the image forming apparatus 1 is sandwiched and transported by the transport roller 25, passes through the gates G1 and G2 in the state indicated by the dotted lines, and is sandwiched by the transport roller 28 along the transport path t3. The first sheet P1 of the booklet passes through the gate G3 in the state indicated by the solid line, is sandwiched by the transport roller 30 via the transport roller 29 along the transport path t4, and then temporarily stops, and then enters the side stitch stack SA. Led. Thereafter, the succeeding sheet P1 is nipped by the conveying roller 28, then passes through the gate G3 in the state indicated by the dotted line, is nipped and conveyed by the conveying rollers 29a and 29b, and is conveyed from the conveying roller 30 to the first sheet P1. Placed on top. Further, the cover sheet P2 is sandwiched and transported by the transport roller 25, passes through the gates G1 and G4 shown by solid lines, is sandwiched and transported by the transport roller 26, and the rear end portion of the sheet P2 is sandwiched Pause at. Thereafter, the sheet P2 is reversed by the reversely rotated transport roller 26, passes through the gate G4 switched to the dotted line state, rises on the bypass path t5, and is sandwiched and transported by the transport roller 2728 via the gate G2 in the solid line state. The sheet is guided to the side stitch stacker SA through the gate G3 in the state and the conveyance path t6 having a large curvature.

It is a schematic diagram showing an example of a sheet post-processing apparatus in the present embodiment. It is a schematic diagram of a sheet post-processing apparatus having a conventional flat stitch stacker and saddle stitch stacker. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a sheet bundle that has undergone stapling in a side stitching and saddle stitching stacker. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a sheet bundle that is folded and discharged.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Paper post-processing apparatus 21, 22, 23, 25-30 Conveyance roller 24 Registration roller t1-t4 Conveyance path SA Flat stitch stacker SB Saddle stitch stacker CT Insert tray T1 Operation sheet tray T2 Fixed sheet tray

Claims (4)

A stacker for stacking sheets received from the image forming apparatus, a stacker for saddle stitching, a stacker for saddle stitching, a stapler attached to each of the stackers for saddle stitching, and a cover sheet or In a sheet post-processing apparatus having a sheet inserter for inserting a sorting sheet, the cover sheet has a conveyance path for reversing the cover sheet in the process of conveying to the side stitching stacker and conveying the cover sheet to the saddle stitching stacker by a bypass path. A sheet post-processing apparatus. A stacker for stacking sheets received from the image forming apparatus, a stacker for saddle stitching, a stacker for saddle stitching, a stapler attached to each of the stackers for saddle stitching, and a cover sheet or In a sheet post-processing apparatus having a sheet inserter for inserting a sorting sheet, the sheet post-processing apparatus has a conveyance path that reverses the sheet from the sheet inserter in the course of conveyance to the saddle stitch stacker and conveys the sheet to the side stitch stacker by a bypass path. A paper post-processing apparatus characterized by the above. The sheet post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conveyance roller that guides the sheet from the sheet inserter in a reverse direction is provided downstream from a branch point of the side binding and saddle stitching paths. A stacker for stacking sheets received from the image forming apparatus, a stacker for saddle stitching, a stacker for saddle stitching, a stapler attached to each of the stackers for saddle stitching, and a cover sheet or A sheet post-processing apparatus having a sheet inserter for inserting a sorting sheet, wherein a conveying path for guiding the sheet to the flat stitching stacker is branched into a conveying path having a large curvature and a small conveying path on the way. When the first sheet from the image forming apparatus is conveyed to the flat stacker via the conveyance path having a small curvature and the cover sheet is conveyed via the bypass path. A paper post-processing apparatus, wherein the sheet post-processing apparatus transports the paper to the stacker for stapling via the transport path having a large curvature after the reversing process.

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